Free WVIA Education Workshop Connects Academics, Careers

Teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and home schooling parents are invited to take part in a free workshop from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, at WVIA Public Media Studios in Pittston.

“Working Class: Connecting Classrooms & Careers” will introduce free resources – including the award-winning “Working Class” documentary series, a partnership of Pennsylvania College of Technology and WVIA Public Media – to help elementary, middle and high school students connect their academic studies with future career opportunities.

Participants in the workshop will have an opportunity to discuss a challenge offered by video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell, who told “Working Class” producers: “If the student doesn’t want to come to school or is bored in school, it’s our fault. … There’s got to be a better way. We need to find that way.”

The workshop will offer ideas for implementing creative projects that help students engage in learning while considering how their interests and academic studies can help them select a career.

A guidance counselor who took part in a “Working Class: Connecting Classrooms & Careers”workshop last fall said, “It was a very informative presentation, and the resources are great.”

Leading the conference will be WVIA’s director of education, Andrea O’Neill, and from Penn College, Elaine J. Lambert, special assistant to the president for creative development and public relations, and Christopher J. Leigh, video production coordinator.

Lambert and Leigh created the “Working Class” series. Three episodes in the series are available for viewing online via the series website and WVIA’s on-demand service.

The newest episode in the series, “Working Class: Game On! Why Math Matters,” which features Atari founder Bushnell, premiered in October on WVIA-TV. Other Pennsylvania public television stations also have aired the one-hour documentaries.

More information on the “Working Class” documentary series is available online. Educators and parents also may follow the series on Facebook and Twitter.

Those who are interested in participating must register by emailing Lambert by Nov. 20.